Latch



June 30, y1936. H. M. FOSTER 2,045,346

f I LATCH Filed May 1, 195s 2 sheets-sheet 1 EY @an M2M June 30, 1936. H. M. FOSTER 2,045,346

IN1/Mraz Patented June 3o, 193e l 2,045,846

LATCH Howard M. Foster, St. Lellis,v o., assignor to V Ternstedt Manufacturing Company, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Michigan v Application May 1, '1933,'S'e1'ial No. 668,616.'

s claims. (c1. 'iq-91) This `invention relates to latches, ,and with Fig. 'l is a view showing detailsV oi certain regard to certain more specific features, to parts of Figs.4 to`6 shown'Seriatim;v i latches for automobile doors and the like, the Fig. 8'is a vertical sectionJtaken through the UNITED s'rmiazsV PATENT* OFFICE same including locking elements. shank rof vthe latch, showingfa keyed and un- 5 This invention is an improvement upon the lcckedjposition; Y f 5 invention set forth in my patent application, Se- Fig. 9 is a cross section taken' along the linev rial No.'613,307 iiled May 24, 1932, for Door latch. 9-9 of Fig. 8,v the dash line showing the posi- Among the several objectsv of the invention tion of the 'unsynimetrical handle of Fig. 8.

may be noted the provision of a latch for auto`l ahead of the'drawing: plane;

l mobile doors and the like which includes a morer Fig. 10 is a fragmentary view similar to parts 10 freely rotating handle when the,y latch is in of Fig. 9 but showingan alternate position `of locked condition and lwhich kis notv subject to parts; catching or the like; the provision of a latch Fig. 11 is a view similar to Fig. 4 also showof the class described in which certain key haning a roll back but one adaptedto be applied to l dies and certain plain handles 4may be inter-` another Vdor'so as to make possiblethe use of 15 changed between a plurality of doors, said unsymmetrical handles in .any location of an handles being of desired symmetricalv or unsymautomobile without marring the appearance of metrical design;v the provision of a latch of the the automobile; classdescribed which may be locked both. from Fig. 1 2 is another view of the roll back shown the insideand from the outside'butwhich avoids in Fig. 11; said. view-corresponding in elevation 20 thedanger of an operator locking himself out of to Fig. 6; the' automobile or like compartment; the Apro- Fig. 13 is an endview'ofthe roll back shown s vision of apparatus of the class described which in Figs. 11 and'12. andcorresponds in l,form to generally oper-ates more freely `and`with less Fig. 5;

friction; the provision of apparatus of this class Fig. 14 is a detailedviefw of parts of the roll 25 in which either plain or key-operated handles back of Figs. 11 to 13, but corresponding in form may` be simply removed whenever the door is to Fig. '7;

open, andwhether or not the handle isin locked Fig. 15 is a longitudinal section of a plain or unlockedcondition; and provision of appahandle which does not' incorporate a lock; and,

ratus 'oi this class having improved water-proof- Fig. 16 is a fragmentary section A showing a 30 ing features. Otherobjects will bein part obmodified and round shape of handle. vious and in part pointed out hereinafter. Similar reference characters indicate corre- The invention accordingly comprises the ele-A spending parts'throughout ,the vseveral views of ments and combinations of elementsfeatures of the drawings. f

construction, and arrangements of parts which vReferringmowv morel particularly to Fig'. 1, 35 will ybe exempliiied in the structures hereinafter there is shown at numeral l a vehicle door described, and .the scope of the application of formed with a rabbet'3 into which are set the whichwill be indicated in the following claims. latch partsdesignated as a whole bythe numeralV Inthe accompanying drawings, in which is 5. The inside of the door faces the reader in o yillustrated one of various possible embodiment Fig. 1. 40 of the invention, i At numeral 1 is shown an interior operating Fig, 1 is an elevation of the latch as vewed handle conveniently located with respect to pasfrom the interior of a door, cover parts being re- Sengers Within the Vehicle and rotatably mburltmoved; ed upon? a bearing plate 9. The handle 1 is Fm 2 is a cross Section taken Online 2 2 of fastened to a shankl Il which carries vinteriorly 45 Fig 1 viewed upwardly. of the plate 9 a crank I3 which, by means of a v connecting link l5 is adaptedto transmit mo- Fg 3 is' an evatmn "f the latch Viewed lnon to a slider n in a plate 2s.V The slider |12 flUm the exterior and cover parts being removed; has an ear I9 contacting with the plate 25 to Fig- 4 is an enlarged etail-0f me form 0f function as a. vlimiting stop to counterclockwise 50 roll back assembly; t movement of the Vhandle 'I (Fig. 1). Astruck-upv Fie. 5 is a cross Section taken 0n 11n@ 5-5 0f dog 2| (Fig. 3), sudable under aspnng detent z3 5 Fig. 4; y serves to` ensure positive positioning oi' the slider F.g.` 6 is an elevation taken from the rearof I1 so that the handle 1 definitely assumes posi- Fig# 4l and from the left 0f Fig- 5; tion A or C and maintains either of these after 55 i the handle 1 is released by the operator thereof'.

'I'he slider extends interiorly of the plate 25 and is suitably guided therein by struck-up ears 21 and is held thereto by said spring 23. At its inner end and within the limits of plate 25, the slider I1 is provided with a nose 29 which is engageable with one end of a rocker 3|, the other end of the rocker performing functions to be set forth hereinafter (Figs. 1 andv 3). y

The slider I1 ,has a rectangular notch 33 formed in the upper edge thereof at the ends of which are lugs 35, the lugs 35 being engageable with a lug 31 of a bolt 39. Inasmuch as the lug 31 is shorter than the notch 33, a lost-motion engagement is effected between the slider |1 and the bolt 39.

The bolt is alsoslidably mounted on the plate 25, this being accomplished byV passing its latching tongue`- 4| through a suitable opening 43 vin a flange 45 of the plate 25, and by having a strip 41 which is riveted to the tongue 4| slidably engage a flat49 struck up from the plate 25. The strip 41 has a slot 5| surrounding the shank of, and being below the head of a guide stud 53.

'Ihe portion of the tongue 4I which is beneath the strip 41 is acted upon by one end 51 of a` spiral, coil spring Y55, .the other end 59 of said spring being held between ears 3| struck up from the plate 25. A portion 23 of the tongue 4|lol cated beneath the strip 41 whichis engaged by the end 51 of said spring55 is formed in a new manner, namely as a cam' 33 having a sloping face which engages said end 51. Byl this means a smooth and constantreaction is obtained from the spring and on the working mechanism. The reason for this is that any spring normally operates according to Hookes law, that is, the force required to compress it increases directly as the l spring deflects. It will be seen that as the end 51 rotates around the virtual center of the spring, i

spring due to the radius oi' action increasing.

Thus the action ofthe spring on the'mechanism is more constant than it was heretofore. It will be understood thatthe face of the cam 33 may be preformed as desired to accomplish the said v result with various bolt-operating mechanisms. This feature constitutes one of the improvements herein.

From 'the above it will be seen that clockwise rotation of the handle 1 from position A to position B (Fig. 1) will cause contact between the left end of the notch 33 on the slider I1 and the lug31 on the bolt 39 (Fig. 3) thus drawing the tongue 4| into the opening 43 and out of a recess 35 in the body 31 of the automobile (Fig. 2) thus making it possible to lopen the door. This action takes place from the interior of the car. When the handle 1 is released, the spring 55 returns the bolt and, through the linkage I1, I5, I3, and I I, also returns the handle 1 to position A shown in Fig. 1.

The handle 1 may also be turnedcounterclockwise from position A to position C shown in i Fig. l, whereupon the slider'` I1 is driven to the right (Fig- 1) and .to the left (Fig. 3), the lost motion between the notch 33 and lug 31 permitting this motion without further forcing the bolt 39 which at this time is prevented from proceeding farther by the guide stud 53. Under this action, the nose 29 of the slider I1 engages the rocker 3| to rotate it clockwise (Fig. 1) and counterclockwise, (Fig. 3). The purpose of this will be shown after the part with which the rocker engages has been described.

In order that the bolt 39 may be operated from the exterior of the automobile, I provide a roll back assembly shown in Figs. 4 to 6 having hollow gudgeons 39 formed to be borne in, and located between the plate 25 and a support 12 (Fig. 8). A primary member 1I of the roll back comprises a finger 13. Said gudgeons 39 are formed on the primary member 1 I. The finger 13 is engageable with a corresponding finger 13 on the bolt 39.

Rotation of the `roll back on its gudgeons is effected by means of a shank 15 adapted to be en tered into an opening 11 through the roll back and gudgeons. The iit between the shank 13 and the opening11 is a running t, permitting both axialand rotary motion without excessive play. In order to hold the shank 15 in position within the opening 11. when applied, it is provided with a peripheral groove 19 engageable by an edge portion 3| of a catch 33, said catch 33 being plvoted at 35 to the primary roll back member 1|. It is normally held by a spring 31 so as to hold said edge 3| in intersecting position with the groove 19 (see Figs. 4, 6 and 8).

'The spring '31 reacts'between a groove 39 in the roll back member 1| and a laterally located wing 9|A of said catch `33. The wing 9| is normally pressedby said spring 31 toward a flange 45 of the plate 25. In said flange and opposite the wing 9| is placed an opening 93 through which a punch P orl the like may be ,entered to push the wing 9| against the action of the spring 31 so asto rotate the catch 33 clockwise (Fig. 4) to take the edge portion 3| out oi' intersecting position from the groove 19 (see also Fig. 8). `By reason ofthe position of the flange 45 on the edge of the door, `it cannot be reached except `when thedoor is open, thus preventing removal ofthe handle when the door is shut.

Fromthe above it willI be recognized that while the catch 3| will prevent axial movement of the shank 15, it will not prevent rotary movement thereofand, as will be seen, it is desired to have the shank 15 prevented from havingv rotary movement with' respect to the roll back 1| to eiect unlocking and to permit such movement to eifectlocking.

To the above end, the shank 15 is provided with a groove with which engages a pin 91 reciprocally mounted in a recess 99 of the roll back 1|. The pin is acted upon by a spring |0I which normally presses it toward engagement with the groove 95. It'is also provided with a lateral extension |03 carrying an outside follower |05 (Figs. 6 and 8). A cam '|01 having a toe |09 engageable with the follower I 05 is rotatably mounted on a shoulder of the left-hand one of the gudgeons 69 (Figs. 5 and 6). Counterclockwise rotation of the cam |01 (Fig. 6) results in the toe |09 engaging the follower |05 to raise the pin 91 and thus clear the slot 95 (Fig. 8).

Rotation of the cam |01 is effected by providing a laterally extending tongue III thereon engageable by means of a lug II3 on said catch 33 when said catchis rrotated by entry of said punch. 'I'hus entry of the punch or like tool into the opening 93 and contact with the wing 3| not only results in clearing the edge portion and/or turning thehandle., f

| of the groove 19 but also in causing the cam |01 torotate counterclockwise"(Fig. 6) and thus serves'to cause the finger l| I3 tol contact the finger 'I and hence cam |01 to rotate its ltoe |09 into engagement with the follower |05.y Thus the pin 91 is at the same time lifted from the groove 95. Thisis the second manner in which the present device is an `improvement upon vthe device of my saidvpatent application. That is to say, the shank of either a plain or lock handle mayberemoved at any time when the dooris open,-.whether or not the 'device is in locked position,v because the single pressurey on the wing 9| completelyreleases the shank 15 for axial movement by removing the catch 9| and the'pin 91 from intersection therewith. ,The diierencebetweenv plain and key-,operated or. lock handles will be later described.' f e Application of the shank is made in the inverse order of removal, that is to say, the tool P is entered into `the opening 93 and the wing 9|l pushed inwardly.jthus clearing the opening 11 of both the pin 91 and the edge 3|. 'li'he shank may then be entered and the tool being taken lfrom the `opening 93, the catch 9| will spring' into the groove 19 'when they are alignedvaxially and the pin 91 willspring into the groove 95 when they are aligned angularly. No manual alignment is necessary while holding the punch P; it is auto--v matically accomplished bysimply pressing Yin `When the pin 91 is in the groove 95 (Fig. 8). and the shank 15 is turned, it will beclear that theroll back 1| is then movablewith the shank and will rotate therewith; Thus the bolt 39 may be moved so as to draw the tongue 4| out ofthe recess 65 by' rotating the shank. The spring 55, as above stated, effects return of the bolt vand return'rotation of the shank 15 asa consequence.v

Too far a return movement of the roll backll is prevented'by av stop |5 which contacts with one of l,the supports' |1 of said spacer `plate 12 (see Fig. 3). n

As above stated the handle 1 may be rotated so as to ldrive the slider |1 lagainst Athe rocker 3l (slider to the left, Fig. 3 and right; Fig. 1)'.

'I'his has the actionof turning said rocker 3| 1 clockwise (Fig. 1) and engaging the oppositeend 32. with'the toe |09 of the cam |01,`thus rotating the cam counterclockwise (Fig. 1) and forcing the follower |05 to removethe pin 91ffrom the slot 95. 1 .i

In view of the above it 'will be seen' that unlocking of the shank 15 to permit its rotation, but

not removal, is effected by moving the handle 1 counterclockwise from yposition A to position C (Fig.1). i

Thus it is clear (Fig. 1) that when the handle 1 is in the position C, the tongue 4| extends to the position shown and whenevery the door is closed it will so far as handle 1 is concerned become un-. 1` locked ysetting handle `1 to position A. vThis is' due tothe temporary forcing back of the bolt while closing' the door which sets thehandle to position Ajif it was in position C. Hence, one cannot leave the car and lock the key inside be- 1 cause at least one door must finally be locked from the outside which requires that the key be outside. In the position B the tongue 5| is retracted and the door is openable and, so far as Y the shank 15 is concerned, is ,in unlocked posinon, that is, the hanche is rastro the m11 back.

When the handle 1 is placed vin the position C.l

the pin 91 is withdrawn and, so far as the shank 15 is concerned, the door is locked, that is, the

a sirable catching.

handle is rotatable 'with respect to the roll back.- But a. punch isv required to make thev handle axially free for removal and the punch also insuresfreedom fromthe pin 91. y l

"It will be seen that'itis not only desirable-to 5 effect locking of the door from the handle 1 but also from thelhandle ||9 which is Aaffixed to the end of the shank 115. This isaccomplished by making the shankv 15 hollow and providing therein a stem |2| whichhas an end |23 formed as a cam adapted to cooperate with an intermediate followf er |25,V the latter being pinned at |21 withinthe said slot95 of theshank 15. The intermediate follower |25 has a tail|29 which contacts with the rear end |3| of the 'slot 95 and` thus prevents outward movement of the member |25 and unde- `In order to turnrthe stem |2I, it is coupled with the end. |33 of a tumblerbarrel |35, saidv barrel |35comprising a known part of`a tumbler 20 lock. When a properke`y|31 is inserted into the barrel |35, the tumblers therein, as is known,a re aligned for rotation ofthe barrel |35. -When the key |31 is withdrawn, or an improper key is placed therein. the tumblers do not properly align to per- 25 mit rotation of the v,barrel |35. Thus it requires the proper key |31"forturnlngL of the member |33andste'm |`2|. i I t Assuming that the proper key |31 is in place and that the stem |2| may be turned by means of 30 said key, the operation is for the cam |23 to be turned tothe position 'shownin Figs. 8 and .9 wherein the intermediate follower` |25 is on the low portion ofthe cam |23, thus permitting depression of the main follower pin 91 with which 35l saidfollower |25 engages. Thisvmeans thatvthe pin 91v is inthe slot 95, or atleast will be sent into it by spring |0| when the lslot 95 is aligned therewith, thus locking4 the shank 15 to the roll back 1 I. Thus the roll back and the shank, together.` with handle I,|9v` form a rotatablennit whereby the roll back may be driven4 against the finger 16 to move the boltf3i|r back out of engagement with the socket v and thus the door is made openable, that is, it is unlocked. g i a Whenv the key is turned in thereverse direction, the high portion of ythe cam |23 contacts with the intermediate follower |25 to raisewthe'* pin 91 from the slot 95,v the'lntermediate follower |25 becoming substantially flush .with thell upper edge, of the slot v95.A Thereby the shank 15 and handle ||9 are rotatable with respect to the roll back 1| and thus the door is locked, becauseany one tampering with the vhandle ||9 can accomplish nothing but to rotate the same within the 55 bearing which supports the shank 15. The handle may not be withdrawn because at` this `time the but locking Vby the handle 1 .follows unlocking 65,1y

from the outside key, hence ka party may .enter the car with a proper key and then lockhimself in by operating handle 1 to position C. Anyone attempting to enter, as a bandit, will meet with a freely rotating exterior handle. At the same time entry of a punch .or like tool in the opening 95 (when the door is open) will move both the catch 9| and the pin 91 to" clearing position so that the handle may be removed. 1 i

As kshown in Fig.y 15, kthere may be substituted on which there is no lock such as lock |35. The handle described in connection with Fis. 8 will beherein known as thelock handle; whereas the handle described inl Fig. 15 is 'a plain handle. This plain handle has the groove 19 and the'slot 95, as shown, but the shank 15 is'solid. All operations are the same, except that. the `handle cannot be locked from the outside'.v lHowevevr, it may be locked from the inside by causing the pin 91 to be withdrawn from the slot`95, thus causing the handle to be freely rotatable, though not vaxially withdrawable. The reason for locking it andthe key handle from: the inside is to prevent bandits i andthe like from entering'the automobile while the passengers are inside and to obtain a locking action when thecar is left, this` beingaccomplished from the inside, preferably oner door only havingea key lock. l

It will be understood that either a lock handle or a plain handle may be applied to the bearing provided within the roll` back 1|. This means that the owner of an automobile'who has received it with one' lock handle and three or so plain handles may place'the lock handle wherever he desires. Or he may havev as many of either type of handle as he may desire. j

'I'he above description applies tothe door or doors on one side of the car, and it will be understood that if an unsymmetrical handle such as illustrated in Figs. 8,' 9 and 15 be applied to the other side ofthe car, it will bein the wrong position fromthe viewpoint of appearance. To provide against this,"the door or doors on theop-` posite side of the car, although they have the same general latch construction, are provided with amodified form of roll back. The purpose of this modied form of roll back is to place `the locking pin s1 at' thel bottom of the m11 back bearing, rather thanv at the top, whereby the relative position of the shank 15 with respect tothe door is thrown through,l8 0A degrees, thereby causing the handles to have the 'safme'direction and the ysame position rearwardly or forwardly with respect to a median line of the automobile.

'Ihe above modification is accomplished'as follows, like numerals designating `lilrie parts as heretofore (Figs. 11 to' 14) 'y The roll back 1| has essentiallythesame form as above described, and likewise the catch 93. j On the other hand. the pin Ill is placed on a saddle member |43 and is at the bottom of the roll back, instead of at the top. Each saddle has a yoke |45 which rides on flats |41 of one of thev gudgeons 69, thereby steadying the yoke' and guidingit, other steitdying` being accomplished by the adiacent roll back itself and the plate 25.

The saddle |49 is normally heldin upward position by a spring |49 reacting from the upper side of said gudgeon 69. When a punch key or the like is entered into the opening 93 and contactedV with said wing 9| of the catch Il, the catch 'is rotated on itsmcenter 95 and the edge portion 6| thereby withdrawn. 4At the same time, the lower end 5| of the catch contacts with the saddle |49 to draw the pin |4| downwardly against the reaction of spring |49. When the punch P is withdrawn, the spring |49 returns the pin into position. Thus any handle of 'the latch that is delivered to a user may be' applied to any door and even though it be of asymmetrical design such as shown in dotted lines in Flg.9, it will have the correct angular relationship on the automobile. For instance, if on lone door it isy horizontal and. pointing forwardlynit may be 2,045,846 'for the handle shown'in Fig. 8 another handle horizontal and pointing 'forwardly lon another door.4 It is to be understood that the proper form o f rolllback'm'ay be chosen lto properly position a handle on any door on any side of the car opening in any direction. a 5

It will be seen' that in this modified form of roll back no separate cam is used, the member 83 itself forming a cam a't its lower end.

It will be recognized that inasmuch as said cam |01r is not used in this form, the rocker arm 3| will not be useful for effecting' locking from the slider I1. Thereforea different shape of link is used at this point. (see Fig. 12) This link com` prises a bell crank |53, the lower leg |55 of which is'contacted by the nose 29 of the slider I1. This leg then contacts vwith the upperjportion |51 of the yoke |95 to depress the same and thus withdraw the pin from intersection -with the shank 15.` Thus locking also may be effected from the handle 1 as before. a

Locking, from the keyy |31, when a key handle is used, is effected in substantially the same manner as before, the memberl |25 contacting with the downwardly located pin, as it did with the upwardly located pin, the only difference being that the shank 15 must be turned until vthe slot 95 aligns with said downward pin. This difference in the amount thatthe handle must be turned, accounts for the handle coming into the4 correct angular position, as above set forth. The feature of having handles which orient themselves properly on either side ofthe car regardless of where they are placed andr `regardless of the factthat they are formed unsymmetrically, oonn stltutes one of the improvements herein. "5

. But it will be understood that the unsymmetrical handles need not necessarily be used. In fact, heretofore unsymmetrical handles have been used but not in ther improved manner herein and primarilyl to provide a great lever action due to the diiiiculty with which the locks and latches operate. With my improved form of spring coordination with the bolt 39 (see the cam 53), this lock operates so easily that` it is possible to employ a symmetrical,L or round handle' |64, suchas is used on house doors.Y vIt is therefore probable, if styleso demands, that round design of handles will be used where easily operating latches of this class are available. I `have'illustrated such a vhandle in Fig. 16, by way of example. With such a handle one form of vroll back'may be used throughout on a car but with an unsymmetrical form the 'two typesshould be used, one on either side ofthe car.

Another feature of the invention is shown in Fig. 8. -This is constituted by a sleeve |59 slid-l ably arranged on the outer end of the shank 15 over a shoulder 6| thereon. This sleeve |59 is shingle-lapped by a portion |63 on the,hand1e ||9 and is slidable in a recess |55. A spring |61 60 within the sleeve |59 rand on the shank 15 reacts upon an inwardly turned flange |69 to normally force the sleeve'l |59 outwardly from the recess |65. The sleeve |59has a lug |60 which works inra' recess |62 of the shank 15 to keep the sleeve 65 prisoner on the shank.

On the dcorthere vare fastened members |1| providing a recess |13 for supporting a soft felt or like washer |15. Thus when the shank 15 is applied to its respective latch,` the inwardly di- 70 rected flange |59 of the sleeve |59 contacts said washer |15 to compress the spring |61. 'I'his feature steadiesthe shank 15, prevents rattling, provides a constant light frictional reaction to movement which provides a smooth action, and

at the same time a water seal is eiected substantiaily preventing entrance of moisture into the latch.

In view of the above, itwill be seen that the several objects of the invention are achieved and other advantageous results attained.

As many changes could be made in carrying out the above constructions without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

I claim:

l. In a latch for a door or the like, a bolt, operating means for the bolt, said bolt operating means being adapted to be operated from an inside handle or from a lock handle or from a plain handle, means whereby either the lock handle or the plain handle may be joined to or released from the bolt operating means to effect unlocking and locking respectively, means whereby when the lock handle is joined to thev bolt operating means a lock in the lock handle may effect release of the lock handle, and means whereby said inside handle may effect release of either handle.

2. In a latch for a door or the like, a bolt, op-

erating means for the bolt, saidbolt operating means being adapted to be operated from an inside handle or from a lock handle or from a plain handle, means whereby either the lock handle or the plain handle is joined to or released from the bolt operating means to effect unlocking and locking respectively, means whereby when the lock handle isl joined to the bolt operating means a lock in the lock handle may eiect release of the lock handle for free rotation only, means whereby said inside handle may effect said release for free rotation of either the lock or plain handle, and means whereby a tool may be applied to the door only when the door is open to completely release either the lock or plain handle for revmoval at a single operation, regardless of whether the respective lock or plain handle was theretofore in unlocked or locked condition.

3. In a latch for a door or the erating means for the bolt, said bolt operating means being adapted to be operated from an inside handle or from a lock handle or from a plain handle, means whereby either the lock handle or the plain handle is joined to or released from the bolt operating means to eiIect unlocking and locking respectively, means whereby when the lock handle is joined to the bolt aperating means a lock in the lock handle may efi'ect release of the lock handle for free rotation only, means whereby said inside handle may eilect said release for free rotation of either the lock or plain handle, and means whereby a tool may be applied to the door to compeltely release either the lock or plain handle for removal at a single operation.

like, a bon, op-

4. In a latch for a door or the like, a bolt, op-

erating means for the bolt controllable from an insidefoperating handle, said bolt operating means being adapted to receive a lock handle or a plain y y an inside operating handle, said bolt operating means being adaptedto receive a lock handle or a plain handle, means for joining or releasing said lock handle Ilwith respect to rthe bolt operating means either by a key in the lock handle when the lock handle is joined to the bolt operating means or by said inside handle to eiect unlocking and locking respectively. p

6. In a latch for a door or the like, a bolt, operating means for the bolt controllable from an inside operating handle, said bolt operating means being adapted to receive a lock handle or a plain handle, means for joining or releasing either of said handles with respect to the bolt operating meanspeither by a key in the lock handle when the lock-handle is joined to the bolt operating means or by said inside handle to effect unlocking and locking respectively, and means whereby a door/with either a lock or a plain handle is automatically unlocked upon closing the door.v

'1. In a latch for a door or the likea bolt, operating means for the bolt controllable from an inside operating handle, said bolt operating means being adapted to receive a lock handle or a plain handle, means for joining or releasing either of said handles with respect to the bolt operating means either by a key in the lock handle when the lock handle is joined to the bolt operating means or by said insidehandle to eiIect unlocking and locking respectively/.and means whereby a door with either Aa lock or a plain handle is, upon closngkttllie door, automatically and completely unoc e 8. In a latch for a doorl or the like, a bolt. opn lerating means for the bolt, said bolt operating means being adapted to be operated from an inside handle and to receive a lock handle or a plain handle and means for` joining or releasing y said lock handle with respect to the bolt operatf also effective to unlock and lock the plain hanv die when it is applied. f

vHOWARD M. FOSTER. 

